Willard library was built with funds from a prominent Evansville Businessman named Willard Carpenter. Mr. Carpenter had amassed a fortune through real estate deals during the 19th century and was known as one of the founding members of the Evansville community. Willard Carpenter had intended to build a college, but found that he did not have enough money to make this a reality, so he "settled" for a library.
Construction of the library began in 1877 and was finished in 1885. Willard Carpenter died in 1883 at the age of 80, two years before the library opened.
The Grey Lady
In the 1930's, a custodian of the library claimed to see the ghost of a woman in a grey veil. He repeated his story many times, and claimed to have seen her on many other occasions. He even quit his job at the library and claimed his reason was fear of the ghost. Since that time, many other staff and patrons of Willard Library claim to have seen or felt the ghost.
The oft repeated tale of who the ghost is goes something like this. Willard Carpenter decided that he would not give any of his three children a large portion of his fortune. Instead, he created a library in his name. One of his children, Louise Carpenter, was so upset that she sued the library trust- and lost. Many Evansville natives believe that she is the ghost that haunts the library. However, the library's website claims that the ghost is not malevolent. In fact, the library has webcams throughout the building that are particularly popular on Halloween.
Would you like to see more proof? Would you like to voice your opinion about the photos? Click here!
LibraryGhost.com has live webcams (still images only) and a brief video about the Grey Lady.
Willard Library- Southern Indiana
21 1st Avenue, Evansville IndianaHistory
Willard library was built with funds from a prominent Evansville Businessman named Willard Carpenter. Mr. Carpenter had amassed a fortune through real estate deals during the 19th century and was known as one of the founding members of the Evansville community. Willard Carpenter had intended to build a college, but found that he did not have enough money to make this a reality, so he "settled" for a library.
Construction of the library began in 1877 and was finished in 1885. Willard Carpenter died in 1883 at the age of 80, two years before the library opened.
The Grey Lady
In the 1930's, a custodian of the library claimed to see the ghost of a woman in a grey veil. He repeated his story many times, and claimed to have seen her on many other occasions. He even quit his job at the library and claimed his reason was fear of the ghost. Since that time, many other staff and patrons of Willard Library claim to have seen or felt the ghost.
The oft repeated tale of who the ghost is goes something like this. Willard Carpenter decided that he would not give any of his three children a large portion of his fortune. Instead, he created a library in his name. One of his children, Louise Carpenter, was so upset that she sued the library trust- and lost. Many Evansville natives believe that she is the ghost that haunts the library. However, the library's website claims that the ghost is not malevolent. In fact, the library has webcams throughout the building that are particularly popular on Halloween.
Would you like to see more proof? Would you like to voice your opinion about the photos? Click here!
LibraryGhost.com has live webcams (still images only) and a brief video about the Grey Lady.